Okay, foodies and festivity fanatics! Planning a birthday bash at a restaurant?
Smart choice! Let the restaurant handle the food and ambiance, and let’s focus on the fun!
These are 17 Birthday Party Games for Restaurants that are perfectly designed to bring the party vibe right to your table – without disrupting the other diners or requiring a ton of space!
Restaurant birthday parties are a fantastic way to celebrate – delicious food, great atmosphere, and no cleanup for you!
But to really amp up the fun factor, especially for kids or even a more playful adult crowd, some well-chosen games are key.
These games are all about being restaurant-appropriate – minimal mess, noise levels kept in check, and all playable right at your table.
Get ready to spice up your restaurant birthday with these fantastic game ideas!
1. Table Topics Trivia – Birthday Edition: Brainy Bites & Fun Facts!
Trivia right at your table! Table Topics Trivia is perfect for engaging everyone without needing to move around.
How to Play: Prepare trivia questions, either general knowledge or personalized birthday trivia about the birthday person. Write questions on cards or use a phone app. Go around the table, asking each person or team a question. Keep score and award a prize to the trivia master!
Why it’s great for restaurants: It’s completely contained at the table, quiet, and mentally stimulating. Plus, it can be themed around food or the restaurant itself for extra fun!
2. “I Spy” Restaurant Edition: Eye Spy with My Little… Menu!
Turn the restaurant into your game board with a classic “I Spy” twist! Restaurant “I Spy” is fun, easy, and uses the environment around you.
How to Play: One person starts as “Spy” and says “I spy with my little eye something…” and gives a clue related to something visible in the restaurant – “…something red on the menu,” “…something made of wood,” “…something a waiter is holding,” etc. Others guess what it is.
Why it’s great for restaurants: It’s quiet, engaging, and uses the restaurant setting itself as the game. No extra materials needed!
3. Menu Mad Libs: Fill-in-the-Blank Fun with Food Words!
Get silly with words and menus! Menu Mad Libs is a hilarious word game that uses restaurant menus for a unique twist.
How to Play: Create Mad Libs stories (templates easily found online) but make the blanks categories related to restaurant menus – nouns like “appetizer,” verbs like “to grill,” adjectives like “spicy,” etc. Have guests fill in the blanks without knowing the story. Then read the completed, often nonsensical, stories aloud for guaranteed laughs!
Why it’s great for restaurants: It’s a quiet and creative game that uses the restaurant theme and menus in a fun, interactive way. You can even pre-print Mad Libs sheets for easy distribution.
4. “Would You Rather?” – Restaurant Dilemmas: Foodie Fun Questions!
Spark some fun and foodie-focused debates with “Would You Rather?” questions!
How to Play: Prepare a list of “Would You Rather?” questions all about food, restaurants, or dining scenarios. Examples: “Would you rather only eat dessert for a week or only eat vegetables for a week?”, “Would you rather have a personal chef or a lifetime supply of takeout?”, “Would you rather have to sing for your supper every night or do dishes for a year?”. Go around the table and have each person answer and explain their choice.
Why it’s great for restaurants: It’s a conversational game that’s perfectly themed for a restaurant party and encourages lighthearted debate and sharing of food preferences.
5. Restaurant Charades – Food & Dining Edition: Act Out Your Appetite!
Charades… with a delicious restaurant theme! Act out food items, restaurant actions, and dining scenarios for a fun and engaging game.
How to Play: Prepare charade prompts related to restaurants, food, and dining. Think “ordering food,” “eating spaghetti,” “a waiter carrying a tray,” “a chef cooking,” “a birthday cake,” specific dishes on the menu, etc. Play charades as usual, with guests acting out the prompts without speaking.
Why it’s great for restaurants: It’s a classic game adapted perfectly for a restaurant setting. It’s moderately active (within your chair space!), and the theme is built right in.
6. “Finish the Restaurant Slogan” Game: Brand Recognition Brain Teaser!
Test your knowledge of restaurant jingles and slogans! This game is a fun pop culture brain teaser.
How to Play: Prepare a list of famous restaurant slogans or jingles, but leave off the last few words. Read out the start of the slogan and have guests shout out or write down the missing words to “finish the slogan.” Focus on well-known chains or slogans that are easily recognizable.
Why it’s great for restaurants: It’s a quick, verbal game that’s easy to play at the table and taps into pop culture knowledge related to dining.
7. Restaurant-Themed “Two Truths and a Lie”: Foodie Fact or Fiction?
Play “Two Truths and a Lie” with a delicious twist! Make the statements food or restaurant-related for a themed icebreaker.
How to Play: Each person shares three “facts” about themselves, but make them food or restaurant-related – “I once ate a whole pizza by myself,” “I’ve worked as a waiter,” “My favorite food is sushi,” but one of these is a lie. Others guess the lie.
Why it’s great for restaurants: It’s a fun icebreaker that fits the restaurant setting perfectly. It encourages conversation and helps people learn fun foodie facts (and fictions!) about each other.
8. Restaurant Menu Scramble: Word Puzzle with a Menu!
Turn the restaurant menu into a word puzzle! Menu Scramble is a quick and engaging word game using readily available materials.
How to Play: Choose a few words from the restaurant menu (dish names, ingredients, restaurant name). Scramble the letters of each word and write them down. Guests have to unscramble the letters to guess the menu words. You can make it a timed challenge or just play for fun.
Why it’s great for restaurants: It uses the restaurant menu directly for the game, is quiet, and provides a quick mental challenge right at the table.
9. Napkin Origami Challenge (Simple Designs): Creative Folding Fun!
Get crafty with napkins and try some simple origami! Napkin origami is a surprisingly fun and elegant table game.
How to Play: Find easy napkin origami instructions online (simple folds like a swan or a fan are best). Provide extra napkins (or use restaurant napkins if allowed!). Challenge guests to learn and create a simple origami figure within a set time limit. You can even have a “best origami” contest.
Why it’s great for restaurants: It’s a quiet, creative, and hands-on activity that uses readily available restaurant supplies (napkins!). It’s also a fun way to learn a new skill and create a little table decoration.
10. Coin Games at the Table: Pennies for Play!
Simple coin games can be surprisingly entertaining and use minimal space.
How to Play: Use coins available at the table. Play games like:
1. Coin Stacking Challenge: Who can stack the highest tower of coins in one minute?
2. Coin Flipping Contest: Who can flip a coin and catch it heads-up the most times in a minute?
3. Coin Line Up: Who can make the longest straight line of coins in one minute?
Why it’s great for restaurants: Coins are readily available, and these games are quiet, contained at the table, and require minimal setup.
11. “Restaurant Bingo” – Table Edition: Spot the Dining Details!
Create a bingo game based on things you can spot within the restaurant! Restaurant Bingo focuses attention on the surroundings and makes observation fun.
How to Play: Create bingo cards with squares containing things guests might see or hear in the restaurant – “someone wearing a red shirt,” “a plant,” “a candle,” “a waiter carrying a tray,” “someone laughing,” “music playing,” etc. Guests mark off squares as they spot them. First to get bingo wins!
Why it’s great for restaurants: It’s a quiet, observant game that encourages guests to pay attention to their surroundings and interact with the restaurant environment in a playful way.
12. Restaurant “Scavenger Hunt” – Table Clues Edition: Solve Clues at Your Table!
A scavenger hunt that stays put – all the clues are at the table! Table Scavenger Hunts are brain-teasing and require close observation of table items.
How to Play: Prepare scavenger hunt clues that can be solved using items already on the table – menus, salt & pepper shakers, napkins, silverware, water glasses, etc. Clues could be riddles, word puzzles, or observational tasks related to these items. Guests solve the clues to find a “hidden treasure” at the table (could be a small treat or just bragging rights!).
Why it’s great for restaurants: It’s a quiet and contained game that utilizes items already present at the table. It encourages problem-solving and observation skills in a restaurant-appropriate manner.
13. “Categories” – Restaurant Edition: Foodie Categories Fun!
The classic “Categories” game with a restaurant-themed twist! “Categories” is a verbal word game that’s easy to play anywhere.
How to Play: Choose restaurant-related categories, like “Types of Cuisine,” “Desserts,” “Drinks,” “Condiments,” “Restaurant Jobs,” etc. Pick a letter of the alphabet. Guests take turns naming items within the categories that start with that letter. For example, category: “Desserts,” letter: “C” – Cake, Cookies, Cobbler, etc.
Why it’s great for restaurants: It’s a purely verbal game that’s easy to play at the table and perfectly themed for a restaurant setting.
14. “20 Questions” – Restaurant Mystery Edition: Guess the Dish!
Play “20 Questions” to guess a secret restaurant item! This classic guessing game is adaptable to any theme.
How to Play: One person thinks of a restaurant-related item (a dish on the menu, a utensil, a restaurant feature). Others ask yes/no questions to try to guess the item within 20 questions.
Why it’s great for restaurants: It’s a quiet, verbal game that’s perfect for table play and easily themed to restaurants.
15. Birthday “Heads Up!” – Restaurant Edition: Guess the Food on Your Forehead!
The popular “Heads Up!” app game, restaurant style! Use the app or create your own cards for this phone-based game.
How to Play: Use the “Heads Up!” app (or create your own cards). Choose categories related to food, restaurants, or birthday themes. One person holds the phone (or card) to their forehead, without looking, while others give clues. They have to guess the word on their forehead before time runs out.
Why it’s great for restaurants: It’s a phone-based game that’s quiet and engaging at the table. The app keeps score and adds a modern twist to party games.
16. “Restaurant Story Starters” – Tabletop Tales!: Creative Storytelling at the Table!
Spark imagination and storytelling right at the table with restaurant-themed prompts!
How to Play: Prepare cards with restaurant-themed story starter prompts – Examples: “The waiter spilled a secret…”, “The birthday cake suddenly came to life…”, “The restaurant menu changed in a magical way…”, “A famous chef walked into the restaurant…”. Go around the table and have each person pick a card and start a story inspired by the prompt.
Why it’s great for restaurants: It’s a quiet and creative game that encourages imagination and conversation, perfect for a relaxed restaurant setting.
17. “Silent Birthday Wishes” – Heartfelt & Quiet Fun: Express Yourself Without Words!
A sweet and quiet activity for expressing birthday wishes. This game focuses on nonverbal communication and heartfelt messages.
How to Play: Provide small cards and pens. Ask each guest to write a birthday wish for the birthday person, but instead of words, they can only use drawings or symbols. Collect the “silent wishes” and have the birthday person try to interpret them. It’s a touching and creative activity that keeps noise levels down.
Why it’s great for restaurants: It’s a quiet, creative, and heartfelt activity that encourages thoughtful messages and nonverbal expression, perfect for a restaurant setting where noise levels need to be considered.
Wrapping it Up: Restaurant Party Games – Dine & Delight!
There you have it – 17 fantastic birthday party games perfectly suited for a restaurant celebration!
Remember to choose games that fit the vibe of the restaurant and the age group of your party guests. The goal is to add a touch of fun and engagement to the dining experience without disrupting the restaurant atmosphere.
So, get ready to dine, delight, and game on at your restaurant birthday party! Happy celebrating (and quiet gaming)!
